MSNBC had San Juan mayor Carmen Cruz on to respond to Trump’s twitter attacks this morning on her and on Puerto Rico.
She was pretty restrained in her response – she cited Trump’s own general on the issue instead of offering unsubstantiated rumors, like so many are doing.
MAYOR OF SAN JUAN @CARMENYULINCRUZ
Responds to #Trump tweets:
I have no time for distractions… #AMJoy
https://t.co/0iiQl6HHUl— AM Joy w/Joy Reid (@amjoyshow) September 30, 2017
She sites General Buchanan saying he doesn’t have enough troops. Here’s what he said:
The Defense Department has not sent enough troops and vehicles to hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico but will soon send more, according to the three-star general newly in charge of coordinating the military response.
Army Lt. Gen. Jeff Buchanan said Friday morning that the Pentagon has 10,000 people helping with the response after Hurricanes Irma and Maria ripped through Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this month.
“We’re certainly bringing in more [troops],” Buchanan said on CNN’s “New Day.”
“For example, on the military side, we’re bringing in both Air Force, Navy, and Army medical capabilities in addition to aircraft, more helicopters. … [But] it’s not enough, and we’re bringing more in.”
So he DID say they didn’t have enough, but immediately followed it by saying that they would bring in more. That’s something many are neglecting to report.
Later, he absolutely denied that the response had been slow.
“That’s absolutely inaccurate,” Lt. Gen. Jeffrey S. Buchanan, the commander of U.S. Army North, told U.S. News in an exclusive phone interview. “It’s certainly not a symbolic thing. As the land component commander, we’re now shifting to a more land-based response, so it’s appropriate that my command is appointed command for it.”
“I have to go wherever it is that I need to be to best provide the leadership required,” Buchanan says.
Again, I think that in a disaster like this, if you’re drawing conclusions at this point with so little information available, you’re relying on your political agenda instead of evidence.
What doesn’t help, is Trump childishly appearing to blame the victims. Also, Mayor Cruz isn’t being totally honest – in her original statement, she was definitely blaming the response, and now it sounds like she’s backing off…